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American Morning
Airport Death; Blackwater In Iraq; Housing Crisis; Political Hot Topics
Aired October 03, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Fire underground and unanswered questions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STU NAY, CLEAR CREEK COUNTY UNDER SHERIFF: I can't confirm that. I'm not sure. I do not know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not at liberty to divulge that. I cannot confirm whether or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Workers trapped in a pipe at least 1,000 feet down. How did some survive?
$11 million message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANUCHA BROWNE SANDERS, PLAINTIFF: What I did here, I did for every working woman in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: This morning, why jurors decided against Isiah Thomas and the New York Knicks.
And dangerous ride. Inside a school bus crash as it happens. The dramatic new video on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And welcome to the show this morning. Thanks very much for joining us on this Wednesday, the 3rd of October. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us.
There were a lot of questions this morning about a tragedy in Colorado. How did some workers at a power plant make it out alive but five others did not after a chemical fire. It happened deep underground at a hydroelectric plant in Georgetown, Colorado. That's about 30 miles west of Denver. Nine workers were working on a water pipe when the fire broke out.
Here's a diagram of where the workers were trapped. The pipe 3,000 feet long. It carries water from a reservoir to a plant. Rescues say they had talked with the men just 10 miles after the fire broke out. Hours later they found their bodies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STU NAY, CLEAR CREEK COUNTY UNDER SHERIFF: I found the parties that went down in the tunnel. There are five fatalities. At this point, we do not know exactly who they are. They're not positively identified by the coroner's office and next of kin has not been notified, obviously, since we don't know who they are. And recovery effort are continuing through the night. We're going to have the Colorado Bureau of Investigation assist us with the investigation as to the incident itself and removing the bodies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: As we said, four other workers did manage to escape. We're going to ask what went wrong when we talk with a spokesman for Xcel Energy in Colorado. That's coming up at the bottom of the hour.
And to another underground tragedy. Family members of those who died at the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse in Utah are in Washington, D.C., this morning looking for some answers. They're going to be testifying at a House committee hearing. Six miners were trapped in the original collapse back in August and then three others died during the rescue attempts. Inspectors with the Bureau of Land Management found serious structural problems three years before the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse.
ROBERTS: Developing right now out of Iraq. A close call for a loyal U.S. ally. Brand new video from the scene today. Poland says its ambassador was bounded in a car bomb blast that killed a civilian. The ambassador was treated at a U.S. military hospital. No word yet on his condition.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is rejecting a proposal by fellow Democrats to make you pay more wore the war in Iraq. The proposed war surtax would require low and middle income Americans to pay an extra 2 percent in taxes. Wealthier taxpayers would see a 12 percent to 1 percent surcharge. Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey floated the proposal, but Pelosi and others have shot it down, saying the tax idea is just a political gift to Republicans.
President Bush is expected today to veto a bill that would have expanded the children's health insurance program by $35 billion over five years. The president complains that its too costly and it's also moved towards socialized medicine. This is going to be the fourth veto of his presidency. It's expected to happen behind closed doors with no fanfare.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, for the first time we're hearing from two witnesses that could shed some light on the bizarre death of Carol Gotbaum at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. They say they were stunned watching what they described as an emotional woman being "manhandled" by police. AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho has more now from our national update desk. What else are they saying about that incident at the airport, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, two witnesses spoke exclusively to CNN last night. The first detailed account, really, of Carol Anne Gotbaum's demeanor and how police responded to her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEL PITTEL, WITNESSED GOTBAUM ATTACK (ph): I saw her laying on the carpeting in the entrance to the concourse. Basically sort of just screaming and kicking. It turned out, of course, that she was just laying there. There were a couple of officers off to my right looking down the concourse. And then they sort of walked towards her a little bit, did nothing and she kept saying -- screaming. Then all of a sudden she said I'm -- don't call me a terrorist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: But according to a second witness, it didn't take long before police did respond to Gotbaum. And this witness says Phoenix Police were forceful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAIGE HARMON, WITNESSED GOTBAUM ATTACK (ph): Two other officers came up and they -- one threw her to the ground and then they -- it was as if they were tackling her. One of them pulled her arm behind her with extreme force. I thought that they were going to -- or they had separated her shoulder. It looked very, very forceful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: In fact, a private investigator who witnessed the autopsy of Gotbaum's body reportedly says there were bruising everywhere. The family's attorney says that's an indication of a struggle. Meanwhile, the Associated Press is reporting today that a second autopsy was performed last night by an independent pathologist hired by the Gotbaum family after the first autopsy came back inconclusive.
Now as many know by now, Gotbaum died in police custody last night after she was arrested for yelling and screaming at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. The 45-year-old mother of three was irate over missing her flight. Police say she may have accidentally strangled herself after trying to escape from the handcuffs. Her family disputes that saying she was on her way to an alcohol treatment center, was manhandled by police and should have never been detained.
And, Kiran, this morning the family is still trying to decide whether to file a lawsuit against the Phoenix Police.
CHETRY: Alina, thank you for that.
And coming up in our next hour, we're also going to be speaking with Sanjay Gupta about what this autopsy may reveal about the circumstancing surrounding her death. John.
ROBERTS: Five, almost six minutes after the hour now. Also new this morning.
The House could decide if Blackwater security should answer to the same laws as U.S. troops do. Blackwater's founder was on Capitol Hill defending its use of force. Its contracts coming under fire for the shooting deaths of 11 Iraqi civilians. CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us now with more on the Blackwater file (ph).
So what exactly are they talking about, Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the issue is accountability. When something goes wrong with one of these security contractors, when there's a shooting incident or someone is killed, how are the contractors held accountable, under what law? Now as a result of all of these issues coming to the front, Congress, indeed, may consider legislation making the contractors more readily accountable for prosecution under U.S. law. That's an issue that's been very murky.
But at this hearing yesterday, Blackwater Chairman Erik Prince said his people are not out of control cowboys. He defended them and he spoke very passionately about the threat that they face in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIK PRINCE, CEO, BLACKWATER USA: Most of the attacks we get in Iraq are complex, meaning it's not just one bad thing, it's a host of bad things. Car bomb followed by small arms attack. RPGs followed by sniper fire. An incident occurs typically when our men fear for their life, they're not able to extract themselves from the situation, they have to use sufficient defensive fire to get off the x, to get off that place where the bad guys have tried to kill Americans that day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Mr. Prince repeatedly said that what his contractors are doing is trying to get out of the way when shooting starts. They're not military troops. He says they don't stay and engage in combat. But, of course, this issue, the controversy not going away, John. The Iraqi government feels very strongly that Blackwater and other security contractors need to have more accountability and it now appears that Congress is moving just in that direction.
John.
ROBERTS: To clarify here, Barbara, though, regardless of what Congress does, private security contractors, like Blackwater, like Dyncorp (ph), like others, still would not be subject to Iraqi law, correct?
STARR: There is no indication that they would be. All of the moves, indeed, John, seem to be either to bring them under more -- readily under U.S. criminal law or even perhaps under U.S. military law.
John.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll see which way that goes. Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon this morning.
Barbara, as always, thanks.
STARR: Sure.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: There's news this morning about an E. Coli outbreak in Indiana that caused kidney failure in seven children. They all needed dialysis. In all, ten children were infected. All of them go to the same elementary school in Floyd County, Indiana. They're now doing testing to confirm more cases. Health officials have not yet identified the source of the E. Coli contamination.
Two hundred thousand more toys recalled this morning. The Thomas and Friends toy recall is for a lead paint warning. RC2 Corporation previously recalled a million Thomas toys. And, get this, among the toys included in the new recall are 2,000 tow (ph) trains that were given as bonus gifts to customers who returned toys in the last recall. These toys in the first million were all made in China.
EBay warning sellers not to sell their recalled toys. Sellers trying to get rid of these recalled items could be kicked off of eBay. EBay placing links to its recalled items policy in several places on its site.
And Jenna Bush has been almost as busy as her dad in the past couple of weeks. She's been pushing her new book about a teenage mother with HIV. She's also planning a wedding. Last night on "Larry King Live" we found out that all of that hasn't stopped her from thinking about dad's post-White House life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE": We were discussing what your father might do after the White House. He'll still be a very young man. And we brought up the idea of commissioner of baseball.
JENNA BUSH, PRESIDENT BUSH'S DAUGHTER: That would be great.
KING: You would go for that?
BUSH: Yes, dad, would go for that, if he's watching.
KING: Yes.
BUSH: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Of course, President Bush once owned the Texas Rangers and was the man who traded Sammy Sosa to the Chicago White Sox. Jenna was just a tot when he announced that he was the Rangers' owner back in 1989. He was managing partner until he was elected governor in 1994. So if you had the former president as the baseball commissioner, then you'd have the former secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, as the NFL commissioner. How about that?
ROBERTS: Can you imagine that? And when I was in the White House for that dinner a few weeks back, President Bush told an interesting story to a couple of us about how Jenna's fiancee asked for her hand in marriage. It's pretty interesting. Imagine asking the president of the United States if you can marry his daughter.
CHETRY: That's a nerve-racking moment.
ROBERTS: Yes.
Ten minutes after the hour now and time to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new that we're following this morning.
A tornado touched down overnight in northeast Missouri. Rob Marciano tracking the extreme weather for us today.
Good morning, Rob.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: More bad news on the home front this morning. A big dip to report in pending home sales. Our Gerri Willis in for Ali Velshi for us this morning at the business desk.
Good morning to you, Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Good to see you.
Yes, pending home sales out for August and the news is bad. The worst number on record. In fact, the National Association of Realtors is blaming the mortgage meltdown, saying that as many as 10 percent of deals that were scheduled to be done in August fell out of bed. That proportion is typically just 2 percent to 3 percent. They say mortgage lenders are backing out at the last minute in record numbers.
And, of course, what we've seen here, 10 percent of home sales fell through was because lenders are pulling out at the last minute. The part of the market that's been hit the hardest are expensive homes. Some $400,000 homes. Those are the places that are worst hit.
And I want to tell you that Morgan Stanley is laying off some 600 people in its mortgage division, so it's hitting Wall Street as well. We'll be talking about Washington's response to this coming up later in the show.
John.
ROBERTS: Meantime, though, Gerri, the Dow didn't seem to see much worry in it, right, only down a few point yesterday?
WILLIS: Yes, the Dow is inexplicable lately. Any kind of bad news only seems to makes it go higher. You remember the other day, Citigroup had some very bad earnings numbers and the market took off.
ROBERTS: Yes.
All right, Gerri, we'll see you soon too. Thanks.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, you've got to check this one out. It's a scary video that's just released. It's prompting some calls for seat belts on school busses. It shows just how vulnerable kids can be when things go wrong. You see the kids literally being tossed in the air as if they're on a trampoline. It was after a bus approached a bridge, slammed into the guardrail and then plunged into a ditch below. There you see the video again in slow motion of the kids literally flying around the back of the bus. Prosecutors released this surveillance tape of last week's accident to show the dangers. All students were released from the hospital with minor injuries. The driver was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving.
Another possible strike by New York City taxi cab drivers topping your "Quick Hits" now. The Taxi Workers Alliance expected to announce today if there will be a second walkout in less than a month over some new technology rules. All New York City cabs must be equipped with global positioning and credit card technology by early next year. It's a move that some taxi cab drivers have been very opposed to.
Also a missing parking meter mystery solved in Massachusetts. Police say they found more than 120 stolen meters. They were stashed in an apartment in Cambridge. They say the suspect cut the tops off and emptied the money out inside. It's just curious that no one noticed somebody lifting up huge parking meters and carrying them away. But officers say it was a lucky break that led them to it. They had gone into the apartment to arrest the suspect on something else having outstanding warrants.
And the husband of one of the most powerful woman in politics stole the show inadvertently on "The View." Things got a little risque when Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sat down with the ladies of daytime. We'll show you what happened.
Also, it's a war of words. Democrats in Congress, Rush Limbaugh and talk of payback. That debate as well ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Seventeen minute after the hour now.
Some brand new shots that you've got to see in your "Quick Hits" now. Two tons of cocaine that never made it to the streets. I imagine it was probably destined for Britain since each one of the little packages have got union jacks on them. Tightly sealed, neatly packaged, apparently ready for shipment when Colombian police went in and seized it.
And how about this one, star bursts, 20,000 light years away. NASA says the Hubble Space Telescope spotted this jewel box of young stars forming far away in the milky galaxy. That's our galaxy. It's helping scientists find out more about the life cycle of stars.
And little house on the construction site. We've seen this story before, but it's always worth telling every time we see it again. Eighty-six-year-old Edith Macefield (ph) of Ballard, Washington, has lived in this house since the 1950s. Like others who have had developments go up around her, she turned down $1 million to move. So crews started building a massive condominium and shopping center project around her.
You know there's another one of those in Washington, Kiran, and it's just the most hilarious site to see this brand new, huge condo development and this little house still right in the middle of it.
CHETRY: Yes, I'm sure the noise is just so pleasant.
Do you remember the roller coaster built that -- the people that refused to move their beach house and there's this enormous roller coaster that comes by every 20 seconds.
ROBERTS: I guess these developers try to send a message, but they're just not getting it.
CHETRY: Exactly.
All right, John.
Well, we're hearing for the first time this morning from some of the jurors in the Isiah Thomas sexual harassment case. Anucha Browne Sanders awarded nearly $12 million yesterday by the jury, all to be paid by Madison Square Garden and its chairman, not Isiah Thomas. Juror number three told local media that she thought that the corporate big shots should pay and also hoped that the award would teach them to be more respectful to employees. And we also heard yesterday from both Thomas and Browne Sanders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISIAH THOMAS, CO-DEFENDANT: Very innocent and I did not do the things that she accused me in this courtroom of doing. I'm extremely disappointed that the jury could not see the facts in this case.
ANUCHA BROWNE SANDERS, PLAINTIFF: What I did here, I did for every working woman in America. And that includes everyone who gets up and goes to work in the morning. Everyone that aspires to be in a corporate environment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Both Thomas and Madison Square Garden are saying they will appeal that decision. Well, is the Senate becoming the first amendment police? First they condemned an ad by moveon.org that questioned the credibility of Iraq commander General David Petraeus. You remember that. And now they're targeting Rush Limbaugh. Joining us from Washington, CNN political analyst John Dickerson.
Thanks for being with us, John.
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
CHETRY: So on Monday, Democratic Senate Majority leader Harry Reid denounced this comment by Rush Limbaugh. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CALLER, "THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW": They never talked to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and spout to the media . . .
RUSH LIMBAUGH, "THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW": The phoney soldiers.
CALLER: The phoney soldiers. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So those were the comments that certainly stirred up a lot of emotion. Reid actually sent letter to the CEO of Clear Channel. He wrote back saying he will not condemn Limbaugh. And, you know, it got us thinking, with all the important issues going on in Congress, are they wasting time with this back and forth of a guy who gets paid to be a controversial radio talk show host?
DICKERSON: Sure, they're wasting time, just as Republicans were wasting time in the middle of the Iraq debate by falling all over themselves to complain about the moveon.org ad. I mean, both sides are equating themselves terribly well in this debate. And it's clear that part of what's motivating Democrats here is getting Republicans back for their response to the moveon.org ad.
CHETRY: Yes, is there a difference between the two in that they were -- the moveon.org ad, which said "General Betray Us?" was questioning the credibility of a guy who the administration and others have held up as the point person to really tell us what was going on in Iraq, versus Rush Limbaugh who says controversial things all the time, in part, to get a rise out of Democrats.
DICKERSON: Well, moveon.org says controversial things all the time, too. I think the more accurate comparison, though, who be a planned ad that's thought through and makes a claim and an argument and something that Rush Limbaugh says that can be at least argued and debated was taken out of context. So I wouldn't want to have to make that argument, but, nevertheless, I think that's perhaps what the distinction between the two is.
CHETRY: Are they just sort of punching down, if you will? In fact, Democrat Tom Harkin made the comment, "maybe Limbaugh was high on drugs again," alluding to his prior OxyContin addiction. Is that appropriate coming from a member of Congress?
DICKERSON: Well, I'm not sure that elevated the debate here. You know, the Democrats might have been on pretty good, solid ground when they talk about the soldiers. But once you do that kind of thing and attack Limbaugh for his prescription drug issues, you do kind of wallow in the mud a bit.
CHETRY: Let's get to the bipartisan children's health bill that would expand the program to the tune of $35 billion. The president says this will become his fourth veto of his presidency. The number of children covered would expand from 4 million to 8 million. And there is some fear among the Republicans that this could become problematic if this is vetoed coming up in an election year. Do you agree that this is a really sticky situation for Republicans?
DICKERSON: Sure, it is a problem. I mean, there are Republicans who can make a defensible case for why they don't want to expand the program. But it's tricky to make such a case in the political arena. And you don't want to be on the wrong side of trying to increase health care for children. The Democrats are already running ads against vulnerable Republicans and so it is a political problem, also if you look at the polling for Republicans who oppose this expansion.
CHETRY: Because it is bipartisan and there is far more support, at least according to the latest polls, for approval of this than, let's say, continuing to spend money on the war effort.
John Dickerson, CNN political analyst and slate.com, thanks for being with us.
DICKERSON: Thank you.
ROBERTS: It's coming up to 24 minutes after the hour now, if you've got a school bus to catch.
Whoopi Goldberg spices up an interview with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. We'll tell you what Goldberg said about Mr. and Mrs. Pelosi. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning.
There's some new information about your money literally flying away. Federal employees flying first or business class in violation of the rules. An upgrade worth $150 million tax dollars. And that's just in one year. The report from the Government Accountability Office says that employees often cited old medical records or other questionable documents to justify the upgrade.
Well, the first music downloading trial is underway in Minnesota. The music industry brought legal action against 26,000 people accused of illegal downloads. Most have settled, but not Jamie Thomas (ph) who claims she is innocent. Sony BMG says she illegally shared 2,000 songs.
And Howard K. Stern, Anna Nicole Smith's former lawyer and companion, is suing Rita Cosby (ph) over Rita Cosby's new book "Blonde Ambition." Stern's filed a $60 million liable suit against Cosby and the publisher of her book about Anna Nicole's life and death. He claims it falsely accuses him of homosexual behavior, illegal drug possession and criminal involvement in the deaths of Anna Nicole Smith and her son Daniel.
ROBERTS: She's got a book launch party for that tonight.
CHETRY: She does.
ROBERTS: It will certainly give people something to talk about.
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Hey, a story coming up in our next half hour here on AMERICAN MORNING that you just can't miss. Newly released photos of the Paris crash that killed Princess Diana, her companion Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul. But these are not graphic photos, all right.
CHETRY: No, they're not graphic, but this is one of the last photos of Diana alive. And you see her in the back seat. And the description is that she's looking back at the paparazzi as they were giving chase. There are a couple of other pictures that we want to show you what just really capture what it was like in the moments after that crash and the desperate attempts by the medical emergency responders to save her life. So we'll show you more of that when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Here's a shot this morning of the White House. You can see the flag waving above. Pretty nice there. Shaping up to be a good day, actually. It's 70 degrees and cloudy. That should clear, though. They're looking at a high of 83 degrees in the nation's capitol today.
And welcome back on this Wednesday, October 3rd. Glad you're with us. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
CHETRY: There's a lot of questions this morning about a tragedy in Colorado, how some workers at a power plant were able to make it out alive after a fire, and others did not. It happened deep underground at a hydroelectric plant in Georgetown, Colorado, 30 miles west of Denver. Nine workers were applying epoxy to a water pipe when the fire broke out.
This is a diagram you're about to see -- there it is -- of where the workers were trapped. That pipe was almost 3,000 feet long, carrying water from a reservoir to the plant. Rescuers say they talked with the men just ten minutes after the fire broke out, and then as the rescue efforts took place, they were not able to get to them in time, and hours later they found their bodies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STU NAY, CLEAR CREEK COUNTY UNDER SHERIFF: We have found the parties that went down in the tunnel. There are five fatalities. At this point, we do not know exactly who they are. They're not positively identified by the coroner's office. And next of kin has not been notified, obviously, since we don't know who they are. And recovery efforts are continuing through the night. We're going to have Colorado Bureau of Investigation assist us with the investigation as to the incident itself and removing the bodies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: As we said, four other workers did manage to escape. We're going to ask what went wrong when we talk for a spokesman for Xcel Energy in Colorado in a few minutes.
ROBERTS: Also new this morning, extreme weather in the heartland. Tornadoes touched down in northeast Missouri last night. The town of Palmyra, Missouri, about 130 miles north of St. Louis, was hit very hard. Trees and power lines were knocked down. Roofs were blown off some buildings. The flagpole sitting on top of city hall was bent at a 45-degree angle. Take a look at that basketball net there. Witnesses say the fierce winds also picked a trailer up off a tractor trailer, pushed it on top of another semi. You can see them piled on top of each other like Lincoln Logs.
The search for millionaire Steve Fossett has been called off. After a month of scanning 20,000 miles looking for Fossett, the Civil Air Patrol ended its search. Fossett was last seen on September 3rd.
Virginia Senator John Warner will undergo a second procedure today to treat an irregular heart beat. Warner was hospitalized yesterday and underwent a procedure to correct atrial fibrillation. That's a condition where the upper chambers of the heart kind of flutter. Warner, who is 80 years old, plans to retire when his fifth term expires next year.
One of the D.C. Snipers called the daughter of one of the victims. It has been five years since John Allen Mohammed and Lee Malvo terrorized D.C. by killing ten people. Last month, Malvo called Sheryl Witts to apologize for killing her father, Jerry Taylor. Taylor was the sniper's first victim in Arizona in March of 2002. Their killing spree began in the D.C. area on October 2, 2002.
CHETRY: Time now, 34 minute after the hour. Rob Marciano tracking weather for us and storms in the Midwest.
Hi, Rob. ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Kiran. Yeah, last night we had some rough weather across parts of the Midwest, across parts of Des Moines, Iowa. As a matter of fact -- we'll get back to that in a second. This line of showers now to the east of St. Louis, heading into Minneapolis. They could fire up to be a little bit more stronger.
You know, we're getting in the time of year now -- it's kind of our secondary severe weather season, mid October to mid November. As we head into the middle of fall, the atmosphere gets a little bit more energetic. So don't be surprised more reports of severe weather as we go on through time.
Right now, in the morning, typically a quiet time. Later on this afternoon, along that frontal boundary, we could see some rough weather.
Of course, we're still in hurricane season and there's a swirl in the atmosphere. More storms and thunderstorms continue to be picked up along the Gulf and across the southwestern parts of the Atlantic, into the Florida peninsula which is, by the way, recovering from a draught with all the rain they got, but now you see this swirl in the atmosphere right about there. There's a national hurricane hunter -- or a hurricane hunter aircraft on standby out of Keisler (ph). They may be investigating this later on this afternoon. Some of our computer models do take it to tropical storm strength and then move it towards wither Texas or Louisiana. Something we'll have to watch very closely, that's for sure.
Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: So it's not going where they would need it to help with the drought. I remember you saying yesterday you need 14 feet of water in the Georgia lake to make a difference.
MARCIANO: At this point. But you never know where these things go until they actually develop and we get better data out of them. They usually bring a fair amount of moisture. We have to get it, though, in the right place. Hopefully it will do that.
CHETRY: Rob, thanks.
ROBERTS: 36 minutes after the hour. Five people are dead after a chemical fire at a hydroelectric plant in Colorado. At first rescuers were optimistic. They were in contact with the five workers who said they were not seriously injured after the fire broke out, waiting in an empty water tunnel. Hours later, though, all five were found dead.
What happened? Tom Henley is a spokesperson for Xcel Energy, the company that owns the plant and coordinated the rescue efforts.
Mr. Henley, thanks for being with us this morning. We understand these were not Xcel employees, contractors working on an underground pen stock which carries water from a reservoir above the power plant down below. What happened to cause this fire? TOM HENLEY, SPOKESPERSON, XCEL ENERGY: Well, first let me say that we are extremely sad and want to extend our sympathies out to the families, coworkers and other friends of these people who were lost in the accident yesterday.
At this time, what we can tell you is what happened. They were applying an epoxy to the inside of the pipeline itself to help prevent corrosion. And at some point in time, a fire was ignited.
There were nine people who were inside the pipe at the time, four were below where the fire started, and five were above. The four were able to escape from below. And the five had climbed about 1,000 feet up from where the fire was, and that's where they were located.
ROBERTS: What happened? Did the machine catch fire that was applying the epoxy?
HENLEY: At this point, we really don't know. We're in the investigative stages. Today we'll have people down in there and be working with them to try to determine what happened.
ROBERTS: Mr. Henley, I want to let you know -- I know you can't see it -- but I'm standing in front of a three-dimensional satellite photo from Google Earth of the area, where we see the reservoir up top here, the plant down below. I want to sketch out for people this pen stock. It came down at about a 55-degree angle for 1,000 feet from the reservoir, and down at a 15 degree angle from the mountain for another 1,500 feet and reduced to a two degree angle all the way down to the plant there. So it's this underwater tunnel that's buried, it looks like, in the ravine of the mountain.
When these five workers were trying to escape from the fire, my understanding is they ran up the tunnel, back towards the reservoir and were huddled in this crease, in this area where it goes from 15 degrees to 55 degrees. Did you consider trying to rescue them from the top? What happened to that idea?
HENLEY: They made the determination pretty early on that because of the fire in the area, because of what they may have not known about the air quality, that they would go in from the ground. They had to determine, first of all, if the fire was out, so they sent in specialized crews from the Henderson Mine that's up here. And we're grateful for their participation, as well as all the other entities. They went in to determine that the fire was out and they determined the fire extinguished itself, determined the air quality was good.
We were going to be able to send people in from up top but they weren't able to clear out the air quickly enough to get the crews in from the top so they decided to go from the bottom.
ROBERTS: These workers who were in the crease area between the extreme rise in the pipe here, they were in that area for 45 minutes, breathing fumes and smoke?
HENLEY: Well, we actually -- after 45 minutes, when the fire first started, we pumped down in fresh air through a pipeline. And sent them down oxygen bottles. At that point in time, they did have a radio and they were in communication with us.
ROBERTS: It's a terrible tragedy. I assume there's going to be an investigation?
HENLEY: Yes, we'll be working with all the different entities involved in that investigation right now. I'm not sure how many different agencies will be involved.
ROBERTS: Tom Henley from Xcel Energy in Colorado joining us from Georgetown. Mr. Henley, thanks very much. Appreciate your being with us so early in the morning.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Coming up, we are going to meet one of the changing faces of prime time TV. She's the star of one of the most popular shows on the air right now. Helping us "Uncover America," Anna Ortiz of the hit show "Ugly Betty" sits down with John, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Got some breaking news to update you on. Six-nation joint statement being released now saying North Korea has agreed to disable its nuclear facilities at Pyongyang by December 31st, according to the Associated Press. The U.S. will lead disablement activities within two weeks. Some talk was, will North Korea follow through with a firm date to disable its nuclear program? And according to the Associated Press it looks like significant progress made toward that. Again, they're giving a date of December 31st to begin the disabling.
Potentially fatal meningitis topping your "Quick Hits" now. Two students at Texas A&M University in critical condition with bacterial meningitis. They live in the same dorm. Other than that, there was no link made between the two of them. Other students who had contact with either of the two are being asked to please get free antibiotics just in case.
A former lab technician in Indianapolis charged with battery after being accused of biting a 3-year-old boy's shoulder to restrain him while another lab worker drew blood. Well she was fired for the incident last week and could face up to three years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors also want her to provide a blood sample so tests can be done to see if she may have transmitted any diseases to the child.
ROBERTS: Coming up now to 16 minutes to the top of the hour. All this week we are "Uncovering America", showing you the faces and names of Latino-Americans who are changing this nation.
One hit TV comedy follows the Hispanic experience from the viewpoint of a family and their daughter, affectionately known as "Ugly Betty," also the show's title.
We talked with Anna Ortiz who plays Betty's sister in the show, a show appealing to all audiences, most notably Hispanics. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA ORTIZ, ACTRESS, "UGLY BETTY": The wonderful thing about "Ugly Betty" is there really is something for everyone. You have the family life that's more of the home where the heart is, the heart of Betty. And then you have the mode world where it's just sort of campy and fun. It's great. It's sort of a best of both worlds.
ROBERTS: How far has the television and film industry come since the days of Desi Arnaz and Jose Ferrar in terms of how they are portrayed in society? African-Americans long had legitimate complaints that they were in these stereotypes when it came to television and film production. How do you feel the Hispanic community has been treated?
ORTIZ: We're getting there, for sure. With the "George Lopez Show," it was nice to just have it be this sort of sitcom family that happened to be Mexicans, and now with "Ugly Betty" -- I think ABC has done an amazing job of keeping their shows diverse and I see other people following suit. I think we have a long way to go.
I've been in L.A. now -- from New York, I've been in L.A. for six or seven years, and, you know, the -- and I've been very lucky to be working quite regularly. That being said, though, I've played my share of Maria the maid. I can't tell you -- just about a million. I'm thinking, really, guys, 2006, still Maria? That's the best you can do?
ROBERTS: Where is the strength of Hispanic culture best measured, on Spanish network television or main stream network TV?
ORTIZ: The best on "Ugly Betty". You know, I...
ROBERTS: Not speaking from motivated self interests there at all.
ORTIZ: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Anna Ortiz, thanks for joining us this morning. Good to talk with you.
ORTIZ: Thank you so much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: She knows that there will be success and a real sea change in television and film when the Hispanic experience is not seen as the Hispanic experience in America, but just as another family.
CHETRY: Right. She's adorable.
ROBERTS: She is.
CHETRY: She's very cute.
Coming up later, we'll continue with our "Uncovering America" series and we'll talk to an actor from the popular hit show "The Office" as well.
ROBERTS: That's a good show.
Well, she lived her life in front of the flashbulbs. And the cameras were there for her final moments. Just released pictures right before and just after the crash that took Princess Diana's life, just ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Myanmar's deadly crackdown on democracy protesters. New images of brutal beatings caught on tape. Men and women risking their lives, smuggling these pictures out of the secretive nation. It's a CNN exclusive. And it's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING." Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to "AMERICAN MORNING." We're getting a vivid look today at the final moment of Princess Diana's life ten years after that car crash in a Paris tunnel. These photos have surfaced in connection with the inquest taking place in her death.
In the first photo you can see her unmistakable blonde hair as she peeks back at the French photographers chasing her car. In the front, you see Trevor Reece Jones looking like he's trying to shield himself from the paparazzi snapping photos from the front. And then you have Henri Paul, the driver who they determined was drunk at the time, starring ahead with an odd expression.
Then there is the look at the point of impact when the Mercedes crashed into one of the pillars inside the tunnel. Witnesses say the car was going anywhere between 60 to 93 miles an hour when it slammed into that concrete pillar.
Of course, the aftermath, the total destruction, the wreckage of the car, making it almost unrecognizable. The car destroyed. Rescue crews on the scene had to cut the roof off to free the Princess and Trevor Reece Jones, the body guard, and then remove the body of the chauffeur and Dodi Fayed.
There were also some frantic efforts taking place. They say there's medical personnel at the scene actually at the back of the car trying to save Diana.
John?
ROBERTS: New this morning, new pictures and strong words about the situation in Myanmar. First, what we're hearing. This just coming in from the acting U.S. ambassador to Myanmar, Shari Villarosa.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHARI VILLAROSA, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO MYANMAR: This is not how governments deal with peaceful protesters in the 21st century. This is wrong. And it will be unfortunate if, because the military has tried to shut down news coming out of this country, if people think it's all OK here. That will be wrong. There's terrible things happening in this country. And the fact that they can't get information should cause everybody around the world some concern.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Now to the pictures. You've seen some of them right there. CNN has exclusively obtained video and new eyewitness reports from people who saw the blood shed with their own eyes and are now safely out of the country.
Here's CNN's Dan Rivers with more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the ugly face of military repression the generals who control Myanmar have tried so hard to cover up. The images just smuggled out by men and women who risked their lives are at least two days old. The pictures taken just when the foreign minister claimed security personnel had exercised what he called the utmost restraint.
The soldiers corral those they caught in the middle of the road -- some prisoners already clearly injured -- watched over by an officer in the now silent street.
Earlier, the smuggled video showed a very different scene, the deafening chant of the confident crowd marching peacefully through the city. But the moment was short lived. The demonstrators flee. Soldiers bark orders as an injured protester is tended to by an anxious friend trying to stay out of sight. And in the street, receipt mains of the stampede.
Those who weren't fast enough are searched and loaded onto trucks by men not wearing uniforms, backing up protester's claims that plain clothes intelligence officers were operating in their midst.
Smuggled evidence seeping out of this isolated country that the pro-democracy movement is being ruthlessly crushed. Picture that are likely to define Myanmar's government to the world.
Dan Rivers, CNN, Bangkok.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Also, the world's most popular search engine expected to capture record sales. "Minding Your Business" ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Three minutes now to the top of the hour. Ali Velshi is off today. We have Gerri Willis "Minding Your Business."
How about that Google stock?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, my God, $600 the stock is expected to trade at today. That sounds very rich, but I've got to tell you, John, there are five other stocks out there with higher share prices. If you want to buy Berkshire Hathaway, for example, $119,000. You can buy a house or the Berkshire Hathaway, whichever one you want.
CHETRY: One share?
WILLIS: One share.
ROBERTS: One share.
CHETRY: Is Google overrated, though?
WILLIS: Yes. It's trading at 50 times earnings. That's the PE, that's technical Wall Street jargon to say this is expensive stock. They have a great story. They're riding this wave of web advertising, which is growing at 30 percent. They're growing their sales at 70 percent every year for the last three years. It's a big story. You know, we found out today, the company has a market value of $182 billion.
ROBERTS: That's incredible.
WILLIS: It's the size of Venezuela's GDP. It's crazy out there, these stocks get on a run and they do really well. If you remember, it came out, IPO pricing, $85. You can see how well they've done.
ROBERTS: Absolutely. Are they expected -- you know, we saw so much of this back in the late 1990s, these stock run-ups, the internet bubble and then they burst. Any chance Google could ever burst?
WILLIS: Well, yeah, you can't say never, right? Because you just don't know. It's all dependent on how well web advertising does and how well people can continue to come up with interesting new game plans. They continue to exploit new opportunities. But, hey, you never know. I'm certainly not one of those people that forecasts trees grow to the sky.
CHETRY: And the competition, trying to creep in there. Yahoo!, saying our search engine will be faster.
WILLIS: Faster and safer.
CHETRY: Gerri?
ROBERTS: But 50 times PE ratio. Who's buying the stock at that?
WILLIS: Probably people who see $600 and, think, wow, wouldn't this be exciting to own this stock? I think you have to ask yourself, is this too expensive?
ROBERTS: OK. Gerri Willis, thanks. See you soon.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
CHETRY: Now I know what I want for Christmas, just one share of Berkshire Hathaway. Just one share, John.
ROBERTS: No problem.
CHETRY: Here's a look at a story you can't miss. This is a major flag flap taking place in Reno, Nevada. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED VETERAN: I'm a veteran. I'm not going to see this done to my country. If they want to fight us, then they need to be men. And they need to come and fight us. But I want someone to fight me for this flag. They're not going to get it back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Why the outrage? We'll tell you what was going on in Nevada. The next hour of "AMERICAN MORNING" starts now.
ROBERTS: Underground emergency, workers trapped in a pipe 1,000 feet down. Four of the nine make it. What went wrong?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENLEY: Today, we'll have people down in there to try and determine exactly what did happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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